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Solana Remains Favorite of Institutional Investors as Inflows Continue

Solana has recently gained favor with institutional investors, who have seen a sharp increase in the number of inflows the altcoin has recorded. This trend has continued with last week’s numbers showing a significant number of inflows for Solana compared to the likes of Ethereum.

Solana revenues reach $15.5 million

According to data from the latest CoinShares report, flows to Solana last week totaled $15.5 million. This occurred as some altcoins like Ethereum saw outflows during the week. For context, Ethereum outflows reached $7.4 million in the same period.

As a result of the latest round of inflows, Solana’s total assets under management (AuM) reached $74 million. This means that Solana’s AuM is up 47% year-to-date compared to Ethereum, which has fallen steadily this year, rising to $119 million in outflows so far this year.

Cardano is another altcoin that registered inflows during the week, but to a lesser extent. Its inflows were $0.1 million, bringing total assets under management to $24 million, an increase of $6 million so far this year. Other investment products registered $0.9 million, bringing its assets under management to $76 million.

In the same week, Bitcoin once again came out ahead in terms of inflows, with numbers surpassing those of Solana. The leading cryptocurrency recorded inflows of US$55.3 million, bringing its assets under management to US$24.205 billion. The asset’s inflows so far this month currently stand at a staggering $111.9 million.

In the same vein, Bitcoin inflows so far this year have also remained high, with inflows of $315 million so far. This further consolidated its position as the top asset with the most interest from institutional investors so far.

Short positions in Bitcoin were also not left out of the entry trend. Its weekly revenues total $1.6 million, while monthly revenues to date have totaled $4.5 million. Its inflows so far this year amount to $46 million, bringing its assets under management to $99 million. In total, the accumulated wealth from crypto investment products is nearly $33 billion.

“Following recent price appreciation, total assets under management (AuM) has increased 15% from its lows in early September, now totaling almost US$33 billion, the highest point since mid-August,” says the CoinShares report.

CoinShares also notes that the inflows may be related to excitement and anticipation of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving a Bitcoin spot ETF. However, the numbers are much lower compared to when asset manager BlackRock first announced it had filed for a Spot Bitcoin ETF.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news

Report Exposes Unsecured Cash Searches at Atlanta Airport

In a shocking investigative report, Atlanta News First uncovered the disturbing practices of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force agents. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, undercover DEA agents were found searching passengers’ carry-on luggage without a warrant and confiscating large sums of money without making any arrests. The report and lawyers say the practice raises constitutional and privacy concerns among American citizens.

Secret money searches at airports

Atlanta News First recently followed DEA task force officers in Hartsfield-Jackson, watching them as they moved discreetly from door to door. Passengers were searched immediately after their boarding passes were read, often without any clear indication of the officers’ identity or true purpose.

Film director Tabari Sturdivant recounted his disturbing experience. Mistaking a DEA agent for a Delta representative because of the airport credentials displayed, he said, “He just came up to me and asked for my ID. He didn’t say who he was. He just asked me for ID and I thought he was a Delta agent. “I had airport credentials and gave them to him immediately.”

Warrantless searches and seizures directly violate the Fourth Amendment, which is intended to protect American citizens from such unreasonable intrusions. The report notes that these actions by DEA agents not only infringe on personal freedoms, but also undermine public trust in law enforcement agencies.

This is not the first episode in which the DEA and law enforcement authorities have illegally seized people’s assets. Take, for example, the DEA’s extensive history of orchestrating “cold consent meetings” at Amtrak stations, mirroring its tactics at airports. In 2021, FBI agents seized $86 million from safes in Beverly Hills, a move that lawyers denounced as lacking adequate justification.

A report from Reason reveals that over the past decade, law enforcement authorities, led by the DEA, have seized a staggering $4 billion in cash. Data from the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) indicates that approximately 65,000 cash seizures, representing 81%, were subject to administrative forfeiture by the DEA, valued at $3.2 billion.

Atlanta News First notes that film director Sturdivant represents only a fraction of the people sought for money by undercover agents at the airport. The investigative article also points the finger at Clayton County drug enforcement agents. The news team found “several similar cases in which DEA task force or Clayton County police agents searched innocent people or seized money without making any arrests.”

In 2023, carrying significant amounts of cash is increasingly viewed with suspicion, even if it is earned legitimately with proven receipts. Constitutionalists and lawyers insist that the propensity of law enforcement authorities to openly confiscate these life savings without just cause is a worrying trend.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Wallet cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news

Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance to end Visa debit card program in Europe

The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume says Binance Card services will stop working in the European Economic Area (EEA) in December.

Binance notes that customer accounts will not be affected. The exchange encourages European customers to transition to Binance Pay, the company’s crypto payments technology.

Binance first launched the card in Europe in September 2020, allowing its customers to use the crypto assets in their exchange accounts to spend and transact at over 60 million locations worldwide.

The exchange did not provide a reason for the card’s closure, although the company has faced a number of regulatory issues in jurisdictions around the world this year.

Binance announced its exit from the Canadian market in May, citing new stablecoin regulations and limits on investors that the exchange said made doing business in the country “unsustainable.”

In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance, the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US, alleging that the companies were violating securities laws.

In August, a Mastercard spokesperson told Reuters that the payments giant was ending its partnership with Binance.

In September, Binance said it would sell its entire Russian business to local cryptocurrency exchange CommEX, claiming that operating in the country no longer seemed compatible with the company’s business model. No specific details were provided.

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Coinbase launches perpetual futures for traders outside the US

Coinbase announced the launch of perpetual futures trading for its customers outside the US on Coinbase Advanced, a platform designed for sophisticated retail traders. Perpetual futures contracts allow traders to speculate on the price movements of cryptographic assets without an expiration date.

Starting today, eligible Coinbase Advanced customers in non-US jurisdictions can trade four perpetual contracts: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP. These contracts are settled in USDC, a stablecoin backed by US dollars.

Users can now access perpetual futures with up to 5X leverage (except XRP at 3X) via advanced.coinbase.com, with mobile trading options coming soon. As part of an introductory promotion, customers will benefit from a low rate of 0% (maker) and 0.03% (taker).
A regulated and compliant platform

Coinbase enables perpetual futures for customers outside the US and has obtained regulatory approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), which is a leading digital asset regulator known for its robust crypto business oversight framework.

Also Read: Coinbase Steps Up Efforts to Crack Down on Hamas Crypto Links

In May 2023, Coinbase Exchange obtained a class F license from the BMA, allowing it to offer perpetual futures to institutions outside the US. Coinbase said it has built its perpetual futures products to strict compliance standards and aims to expand access to derivatives through Coinbase Advanced, serving a broader range of global customers.

A growing demand for crypto derivatives

Coinbase’s launch of perpetual futures coincides with a significant rise in the global crypto derivatives market. According to the CoinGecko report, as of March 2023, cryptocurrency derivatives accounted for a whopping 75% of the total cryptocurrency trading volume, which amounted to $2.95 trillion.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news

Technical Analysis of Bitcoin and Ethereum: BTC Maintains High for Close to 2 Months After Strong US Retail Sales

Bitcoin held near a two-month high on Tuesday as markets digested the latest US retail sales figures. Sales, which represent two-thirds of the US economy, rose 0.7% in September, 0.4% more than expected. Ethereum briefly rose above $1,600.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin continued to trade above $28,000 on Tuesday following a better-than-expected increase in US retail sales.

Despite falling from a high of $30,000 on Monday, BTC/USD traded above $28,600 in today’s session.

Although gains have slowed, they are still considerably above yesterday’s low at the $27,855.21 level.

Overall, the recent uptrend means that Bitcoin is trading at its highest rate since August 18, which comes after the Relative Strength Index (RSI) broke through a key resistance level.

The index surpassed the 63.00 ceiling in yesterday’s session, reaching a peak above the 65.00 mark.

Since then, price strength has receded, although it is still slightly above the aforementioned resistance point.

Ethereum

Ethereum (ETH) fell in today’s session after briefly trading above the $1,600 mark for the first time in nearly ten days.

ETH/USD hit a high of $1,628.16 earlier in the week following a tweet from Cointelegraph suggesting that Blackrock’s spot bitcoin ETF was approved.

After these claims were proven incorrect, the cryptocurrency crashed, falling to a low of $1,570.89 today.

As a result of Tuesday’s decline, bears went on a four-day winning streak and could now reach a low of $1,540.

It is clear from the chart that the failure to surpass the 49.00 ceiling on the RSI indicator also contributed to today’s decline.